Mori Volunteers~

I was hoping my next blog entry would be about the super neato new job I got in Tokyo, but ALAS I remain in Sapporo after several recent unsuccessful job applications.

But that's OK, because I recently discovered the Hokkaido Mori Volunteers (mori = forest), a small non-profit operating out of Sapporo. The group's primary responsibility is the management of a 10 hectare municipal stand of mixed hardwoods from which the group engages in various environmental education activities. I'll put a link to the group in my profile.

I participated in my first group activity on a day categorized as "woodworking". Of course, I was dreaming of chainsaws (in a productive, management sort of way), but it turned out to be closer to art-n-crafts. One way in which the group raises funds is to sell a variety of wooden objects that they carve themselves at local flea markets and museums. Cool! They retrieve wood from the stand they manage and craft an assortment of toys, art, signs, plates, bowls, chopsticks, and shoe horns (!).

A former forester for JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) took care of me for the day, and we made some wooden toys for a local kindergarten. See picture above:

During the day we took several breaks and sat together in a small smoky room adjacent to the garage where we did most of the work. Several of the older ladies made a huge pot of winter vegetable miso soup which we enjoyed with out lunch. They also had large bottles of "maple sap" which they had gathered from the forest. The sap tasted like semi-sweet water.

I hope to make it out next time to the "mountain" which is how they refer to the tract of land they manage. Until then, my task is to translate the NGO song into English.